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USC Morning Buzz

OK, it is game night, which means USC will play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this season. Thank you, Larry Scott.

The Trojans will need to overcome the ghosts of past games in Reser Stadium, led by John David Booty’s tipped pass on a two-point conversion in 2006 and the image of Mark Sanchez throwing his mouthpiece in disgust in 2008.

“It’s cold. It’s loud. It was tough,” safety Demetrius Wright said of USC’s 2010 loss at Reser Stadium.. Full story here

Do you have any life beyond this blog? (Running down to Walgreens to buy Depends does not count)

steveg

Tough place for any team to go into. We have our hands full tonight for sure, just hope it is a competitive game.

steveg

So Scott, what’s up for tonight. We have any tight ends? How many WR’s we using? Are we full of RB’s or is the stable a little light. How many OL we have sitting. We bringing another bunch of walk-on? You got any info on the team at all?

Stu Azole

actually, they’ll need to overcome the much better team on the other side of the line.

Cloud Shaman

Have to stop the passing game as simple as that. We can score on them.

TrojanFamily

I wonder who is actually editing the sports page at the Daily News. Sportswriters in the past would never reference gambling lines in beat reports, largely because they are irrelevant to the question of who will win the game. There was also an ethical component, as gambling carries a moral hazard. But there it is, right in the story, about USC not covering in ten road games; not USC’s record in road games but whether they covered.

Seriously Scott, if you want to be taken seriously as a sportswriter, you need to act like a serious sportswriter. Please explain to us why gambling lines are relevant to whether USC will win. With Oregon State favored by five, should USC celebrate if they lose by three and win some gamblers some money? Is this relevant at all?

WEB_Dupree

Our society’s former quibbles about the morality of gambling seem to have been almost completely abandoned over the past 30 years. It really is something, though, how much Wolf talks about spreads and odds on this blog. If I was his editor, I would wonder why Wolf is giving so much free advertising to the Gold Sheet, Bovada, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/charles.bucket.3 Charlie Bucket

Healy, Krikorian, Malamud and John Hall did it all the time.. those were the Men’s Men of sports writers….and the wolfman is in that class.

i KNOW you never filled out a NCAA pool or did a football “pick the sqaure” for superbowl, eh, WEBB???

WEB_Dupree

I don’t condemn gambling, but it is weird to me just how mainstream (i.e., legal) it has become in so many places. Whenever I visit the Midwest, I’m struck by how many casinos and riverboat gambling operations there are now, compared to when I was a kid (when there were almost none).

Trojan Hoarse

Wolfman has NO class…. none whatsoever………

gotroy22

If he doesn’t why do you bother with him?

Trojan Hoarse

Bucket – Those guys that you have listed are local legends, to be sure, but that was a different time when people were a little more forgiving and tolerant of an individuals vices…..Healy, Malamud and Hall died in nearly 20 years ago…….Krikorian has not really been active in sports wiring for over 10 years, after the passing of his wife,,,,,As basketball legend Jerry West said, “Doug gambled, drank heavily and chased around, and although that might sound exciting, at the end of the day he had no one to bring stability to his life.”……These guys were colorful, had their own unique style and I loved reading their articles…they are sorely missed…and finally, how dare you desecrate the memories of these fine men by including Scott Wolf in the same breath….. Mr. Wolf is not worthy……..

gotroy22

Jerry would be the last person to say that after his own life history. You don’t know squat about Jerry West.

Trojan Hoarse

And you, sir, don’t know squat about Doug Krikorian…..I’ve met him several times at some of Long Beach’s finest water holes and he is one heck of a guy…….

gotroy22

And you don’t know what Jerry West was doing in the late 1970s at West side nightclubs.

https://www.facebook.com/charles.bucket.3 Charlie Bucket

i would agree the wolfman is not part of a Murderers Row of sports writers like John Hall/Murray/Rick Reilly of the LA Times or the Mudd/Krikorian/Hall Herald Examiner, those don’t exist anymore.

BUT the wolfman is a top writer, blogger, radio star, tv analyst, ladies man and SUPER SCOOPER!!!

don’t forget, wolfman BROKE the story of the Year: “LAX Bus-Gate”

got to include wolfman in any list of LA Greats!!!

Tom Oday

Healy and Krikorian were/are two of the biggest azzholes that ever walked the sports world. Throw in McDonnell too!

Trojan Hoarse

Exactly….. they may as well call it The Wolf Sheet……actually, we already do because Wolf is always so full of sheet…….

https://www.facebook.com/charles.bucket.3 Charlie Bucket

take a knee, wolfman, i GOT THIS!!

1) this is not a “sports page”. this is a blog.

2) if the thought of gambling bothers you, maybe you’re just not cut out for the rough and tumble world of big time Pac12 sports blogging!!
3) the wolfman is an Award winning sport WRITER in ADDITION to being the best Blog Master in the business!!
4) the failure to cover the spread is relevant. it is empirical data that reflects the team performance vs a known history. and often extremely accurate. when’s the last time you heard of a Vegas book losing money over the season???

TrojanFamily

1. I was referring to the article in the Daily News, not this blog.
2. Again, this is not “blogging.” It is anonymous posting about a blog. Blogging requires using your own name to take responsibility for your posts.
3. What award has he won? The Buckeye News Hawk award?
4. What is relevant is the spread. That tells you how big of an underdog a team is. It puts into perspective the nature of a win. But whether a team covers is pretty irrelevant compared to whether they win. What is USC’s record in road games in the last 10 games? That is far more relevant than if they covered a 14 pt spread (unless you care about a moral victory of covering a spread despite losing–which I don’t. Moral victories are ways to assuage your pain after a loss, but it’s still a loss).

TrojanFamily

To clarify, Bucket. Wolf blogs. You just comment about the blog. Sign your real name and then you are blogging.

https://www.facebook.com/charles.bucket.3 Charlie Bucket

my name IS Charles Bucket. and i was born long before the movie OR book was made.

so who’s blogging now, tonto-lon?

WEB_Dupree

Years ago, Saturday Night Live (I think) did an NFL Films parody, complete with a guy doing a John Facenda voice, about a Cowboys loss, and it ended with a shot of Cowboys hoisting Tom Landry onto their shoulders in celebration as the narrator declared, “The Cowboys had BEATEN the point spread!”

Joe H

The Cowboys kicked a meaningless field goal as time expired to cover the spread. “Great Moments in Gambling History.” Classic.

WEB_Dupree

Was that what it was called? I can’t seem to find it anywhere online.

Jethro G Sabbath

“If you try and use logic against trolls, you’re gonna have a bad time”
– Charlie Bucket

Stu Azole

This is 2013. More trojies stuck in the past.

gotroy22

Seriously you are stuffed shirt. Even the LA Times began carrying the gambling lines years ago. Get over yourself.

rusoviet

“…if you want to be taken seriously…” Well you’re pretty faithful in your daily hour-by-hour reading of Wolf huh?

On topic – gambling lines are critical because it is how professional betting syndicates make a living. College football is far more difficult than the NFL because there is such a wide array of talent but I have to say they’re pretty accurate in distilling where they believe the final score will lie.

With all of the comments talking about the way the article was written I had a complaint about the shot he took at Coach Orgeron. I really don’t think Ed Orgeron is worrying about his position as much as Wolf portrays in his writing. I think Wolf thinks he is “keeping it real.” Actually I only turned to this blog because the Orange County Register started charging for content. I don’t live in Orange County so I don’t get their paper. Now that they have eased up on their blogs I am going back. The negative content (crap) here from a supposed Trojan is too sick for my tastes. If he ever is happy let me know.

WEB_Dupree

I didn’t realize the OCR’s USC blog was free again. Thanks for the news.

trojandude207

Some of it is but it is better than here

trojandude207

I also forgot to mention how condescending the writer is. Open forum is just one example did anyone get an answer to any of the questions?

gotroy22

Promises promises rah rah.

B.Miller

Honestly I dont care about all your reporting about ghost.. I would rather see USC play hard, FIGHT and STAY HEALTHY..
If they win.. even better!

gotroy22

Yet you care enough to read his blog and comment.

B.Miller

didnt read anything about ghost.. but thanks for taking the time to comment.. stupid

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